Five people were killed when a milk van ploughed into a group of fishermen waiting on a roadside to board an auto rickshaw in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district early Tuesday, the police said.
The mishap occurred at Duvvuru village of Sangem block on Nellore-Mumbai national highway 67 at around 5.30 am. The deceased were identified as K Babu (55), T Ramanaiah (60), K Malakondaiah (50), G Seenaiah (50) and M Seenaiah (55).
According to Buchireddypalem inspector of police B Suresh Babu, about 14 fishermen were waiting on the road side to take an auto rickshaw to go to Rajupalem village of Kodavaluru block for fishing in the local tank.
“They stopped an auto rickshaw and were bargaining for fare, when a speeding milk van rammed into them, before hitting the auto. Four of the fishermen died on the spot, while four others including the auto rickshaw driver, received serious injuries,” the inspector said.
On receiving the information, the police from Buchireddypalem and Sangem police stations rushed to the spot and took up the rescue operations.
{{/usCountry}}On receiving the information, the police from Buchireddypalem and Sangem police stations rushed to the spot and took up the rescue operations.
{{/usCountry}}“The injured were shifted to the government hospital at Buchireddypalem, where one more person succumbed while undergoing treatment,” Suresh Babu said.
The police took the van driver into custody and are investigating the case.